Cookie Policy

What are Cookies and why are they used?

Cookies are small files which identify your computer to our server. We send these to your computer for the following reasons:

to tailor the website to your browser

to help us analyse the use of the website

to allow applications on our website to work correctly – for example, making sure that we know when you have logged on or off and which part of an application you are accessing

We will not use cookies to store any personally identifiable information about you. We will not make any attempt to find out the identities of people visiting our website without their prior permission.

If we want to collect personally identifiable information through our website – for example when you request a service from us – we will tell you beforehand. We will make it clear when we collect this information and will explain what we intend to do with it.

How many types of Cookies are there?

There are two types of Cookies in use on our sites:

Session Cookies

These are temporary Cookies that remain in the cookie file of your browser until you leave the site. This information is not stored after you have left the site.

Many of these types of session cookies are used for the sole purpose of carrying out a particular service such as completing an online application form or making an online payment. Without using such cookies these services would not work properly. Because of this, the directive states that they are exempt from the new rules, and that consent is implied provided an explanation is given.

Persistent cookies

These remain in the Cookie file of your browser for a longer period of time. The length of time will depend on the lifetime of the specific cookie but this may be indefinitely or until deleted.

Most of the persistent cookies that we use relate to Google Analytics. We use these cookies to help us gather information about how many people visit our site, and what pages they visit. We cannot identify individuals from this information. We use the information to help us to see where we need to improve our site for the benefit of our customers.

How can I control the use of cookies?

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying the settings in your browser. You can find out more about cookies and how to disable them in your browser settings at www.allaboutcookies.org

Refusing the cookies may impair your experience of using this site.

Cookies that we use on our sites

The following sections contain detailed information about the cookies we use on our web pages, with information on why they are used.

Cookies set by us

Cookie Name

Usage

X-Mapping-*

The X-Mapping cookie is sent by the server to keep the user’s browser sessions intact as we load balance and use a clustered array of servers. If a user reloads a page they could be served the content from another server entirely but this cookie tracks the user to the same server.

Cookies set by third party websites

Organisation

Cookie Name

Usage

Google Analytics

__utma, __utmb, __utmc, __utmz

These cookies are used to anonymously track visitor numbers and use of the website. We use the information in the Google Analytics tool to compile reports and help us improve the site.

We sometimes embed video, images or other content from websites such as YouTube, Flickr and Twitter. We may also allow you to share links to content on our site with other websites by the use of “Share” buttons.

As we have no control over the cookies set by these websites, please look at the relevant third party websites for more information